Professor Zhang looked appreciative. "Then there's still some hope."
A moment later, Professor Zhang's expression grew grave again. "Here's the situation. We've finished manufacturing all the other components for this satellite. Some parts were even brought in from overseas through special channels. But now we're stuck on one absolutely critical component. Given our country's ability to tackle technical challenges, we might have solved this problem in two or three years. But now the higher-ups have issued an ironclad order: this satellite must be launched within a month. Even if it can't deliver its full performance, it still has to go up."
Shen Bing understood immediately.
After pouring countless hours and effort into creating a perfect product, they had to turn it into a defective one because of the final step. Anyone would probably struggle to accept that.
"Then just postpone the launch for two or three years. Surely that little bit of time won't make much difference?" Shen Bing said.
Professor Zhang said nothing, but turned his gaze toward Commander Gao.
Commander Gao glanced at the others around them. "There are no outsiders here, so there's no harm in explaining. But none of this can leave this room."
Shen Bing couldn't help rolling his eyes. Apart from him, everyone here was a researcher at the secret base. Were these people really going to leak secrets? To put it bluntly, that warning was meant for him. Gao made it sound as though he had a big mouth.
"Don't worry. I know how to keep my mouth shut."
Commander Gao said, "Things haven't been very peaceful to our west lately. India has been stirring up a lot of trouble, so the higher-ups decided to launch this satellite first, just in case. After all, one of its important functions is missile early warning,